The memoirs of a Nigerian on the path of self discovery

Kemen and Senator’s Wedding…

Kemen’s wedding was a blast! Everything was on point – from the church service – which was short and simple, much to my surprise and relief – to the reception, which was organized and devoid of people fighting over gifts (except for a women’s group who came late but expected to be given adequate attention).

Oh, from where shall I start this story? This is my blog and its usually all about me, my thoughts and all what nots, but during the wedding weekend I had to remember that no matter how sick or tired or annoyed i was, it wasn’t about me , it was about my best little sister’s wedding, and how I was going to make her day one of the best ever. So I am going to skip all the details and get to the heart of the matter: The Wedding.

I came in 10 minutes late; I and Betty couldnt go with mom cause we went for a last-minute shopping that took almost 2hours and since mom couldnt wait for us, we had to charter a cab. We asked the cab driver to move a little faster and he said if we wanted that he would charge extra – imagine! So we busied ourselves with touch ups and taking snap shots…

We tried to find a spot as close to the altar as possible so as to steal glimpses of Kemen and Bethel, but it didnt work, but at least we had a good view of them while they took their readings.

I got a call from Bethel’s friend that I was needed outside to attend to something and had to leave the church during the sermon. That time I met a couple other friends: Surface said I looked stressed (I was thinking hard but was definately not stressed, how DARE he think that? I thought later on), John came!! What a faithful friend he is. Unfortunately he forgot to tell Rabi and Nancy (we four were friends back in the diploma days) so there was no hope of seeing them (:(). Salven was not looking bad, and I told the photographer not to take the photo, but when he did and I stole a peek, I absolutely liked! So here goes:

By the time I and John went into church the exchange of vows was about to begin – Kemen was crying and Bethel was laughing (typical, teehee). She was given enough time to breathe and say her vows. After everything was said and done, the priest declared them man and wife, and his best men ran round the church shouting “praise the Lord!” Seriously, look at Bethel and look at them – did they really think he was going to stay unmarried and stick to their clique?

In an hour-half, church was over and we were pouring out of the church screaming names, hugging each other and hugging the couple. For about 10 minutes they were separated and pictures taken with them, and then the official order of photographs commenced. While that was going on, people crowded and took pictures with the Nigerian celebrities that showed up for the wedding: MI, Princess, Francis Duru, Elenu, Dan D’Humorous, Julius Agwu, Funny Bone, Osama…

Francis Duru(Actor), Princess(Comedian), M.I.(Musician)

As family concerned, I and Muknaan (bigbro #2) had to speed off to make sure the reception venue was on point, and to drop off the souvies. We didnt want to bring them in during the party and cause a chaotic distraction.

As soon as the souvies were offloaded, I noticed Patty (Diva Cousin) who was in charge of small chops husstling to place em on tables, so I and a couple other cousins lent a hand to see to it. Ng and Mrs Oduala (Now our in-law, haha) also didn’t mind helping… that was nice of them!

OK so in the process Mr. & Mrs. danced into the hall and I could tell people were having a jolly good time… I kind of blanked out in my usual kind of way (see why I need a blog?), but I’m sure I must have been fixing something or allocating people to one task or the other.

Guess what? the beautiful silver candles I had bought for the couple to light their huge unity candle melted in Evy’s car! (Evy is our only Big Sis) it not only melted, but it spilled over my dress – yuk! Luckily it was a little spill. However the ceremony would have to be called off. I still placed the huge candle beside the cake though and it gave the cake an elegant look (By now I was too busy to take my own picture of that scene).

I had to join in distributing the souvies and even though it was hard work, it wasn’t so bad.

At long last I was done with my “official duty” and I settled down to enjoy what was left of the party. Some professional dancers were giving a performance and people were giving an ovation. The stand-up comedy continued and guests – especially the women – laughed their heads off.

Oh, Kemen threw her bouqet and it was lovely! We were all expecting one huge bouqet to fly out of her hands but it was lots and lots of fresh red roses! Some ladies caught 1, 2 or 4 roses and Kemen said “You are all the next brides, congratulations!!!” We (Yes, I was part of the single ladies crew… any questions?) all screamed and waved our single bouquets in the air, hahaha!

After Bethel gave his vote of thanks (quite long but necessary, I guess) it was over and then there was more dancing and taking pictures. There was the mingling of people and exchange of numbers, PINs, kisses and hugs. And promises to meet at the After Party, which is a story I wish to tell, another day.